Alan-
I never got to talk to you after the race. But I did ask a lot and was told you were ok which made me very very happy. Not sure if you realized but I was the car on yours and Jeff’s tail heading down into turn 10 (somehow I was able to pass about 7 cars going into 6 and I found myself behind you!!!). I saw the whole thing a little closer than I wanted.
When the civic spun I immediately went OMG... as the last two races Jeff's car raced his car and my car have been seriously damaged in accidents together (actually they have been my worst road racing accidents). So I had a little deja vous of another accident. As you know I am rather quick and loose through the turn 9-10 combo and as with you and Jeff I had no place to go either. I went for the only hole, which was UNDER you… I was trying everything possible not to hit Jeff as I watched you in amazement as you cleared the tire wall with the roof facing down. I was in total amazement as I plunged into the tire wall. Jeff’s rear bumper ended up hitting my right rear quarter panel and taking that out, and the tire wall took out my alternator belt. The accident was amazing and scary at the same time. I am thankful for 1) that you and Jeff were OK, 2) I escaped with much less damage than what I could have 3) that you and Jeff will be back THIS SEASON!!!
And moving on to the restart… What a mess…. Unfortunately because I got tangled in the tires in the accident I went basically to the back of the field (35th?). After the mess was cleared up from a back markers view it appeared as though we would go green, when the entire field came to the start finish their was no green flag, nor was their a wave off (the starter just stood their in amazement of all the ITS and ITB cars). There were no flags “double yellows” or any other flags at any station on the track. Apparently the leaders decided that they considered this a wave off, however the back markers and myself did not. I saw no flags and decided, as you should that the track was green. I passed about 25-30 cars by the time I got to turn 3 (where the corner workers were waving frantically to the front drivers telling them to get going because we were under green). Jason Benah followed my pursuit and actually passed me in turn 3 to take the lead for the first time in ITB!!!
Were we in the wrong??? ABSOLUTELY NOT I can remember an event last year where there was a full course caution put out and a half a lap later removed… The leaders were not at start finish but the entire field was to assume that when the flags come down the field is under green. This ruined a lot of people’s races. I have started restarts many times in the back (especially because we run with ITS) and always look at the flag stations rather than the starters stand. In the school (Both days prior to this race) students were preached that no flag means the track is green.
We did make a complaint about how the incident and the stewards did a great job to admitting their was a miscommunication. The starter was supposed to waive the green flag, but didn’t. The corner workers should have waited for the green flag before they took down their yellows, and they didn’t. I hope that this will never happen again.
This unfortunate mistake of the officials probably is what ruined my race. As I had mentioned earlier I lost my alternator belt and the unfortunate long process of re-gridding the field in pit lane killed my battery. I raced as long as I could until the battery just would give any more juice L. I think I could have won the race… but we will just have to go for it next time J. I pulled in 1 lap from the end got out and prepared myself for the victory lap with my brother, I stayed up way to many overnighters the week before not to enjoy that moment.
Stephen Won the ITB race, but not as easily as I had thought… His tire started to go low about 4-5 laps from the end and by the finish it was flat. We ran the victory lap on a basically completely flat tire. On the victory lap he was complaining that their seemed to be something wrong with the car!!! What really figures is last Thursday night my brother and I got in a tad bit of an argument. The Koni suspension we run has not been completely rebuilt yet, so the car had no suspension as of Friday night. Stephen basically gave up and wasn’t going to race. I told him he had to, and after the fight Thursday night on Friday he decided that he would race using suspension from a parts car in the back yard. Friday night the entire crew worked on his car getting the coil-overs installed onto a stock used suspension. That thing sat about 4 inches taller!!! He was about a .7 seconds a lap slower on the used stock shocks and struts, but that was still fast enough for him to win J.
Anyway, I think this will be a great season and I am looking forward to racing with all of you!!!
Raymond Blethen
RST Performance Racing
www.rstperformance.com